Combination mount and shoulder rest



A o z 7 2 J. R. BIRD COMB INATION MOUNT AND SHOULDER REST June 14, 1949.

2 Sheets She et 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1947 h. m 3 km mu A mm mm mm ow Q mvW!!! lfv 1 \ll l r I on m 3 n iv Q m I 5 an w\ Q m m gwua/vvfm JEIHNRETR J. R. BIRD COMBINATION'MOUNT AND SHOULDER REST June 14, 1949.

Filed Aug. 29, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 14, 1949 UNITEDPATENT OFFEFICE 'TClaims.

mimics tender the act of -March 3, 1883, as

thereon,

My invention relates'to a 'conibinedmountand shoulder rest for use "with'reco'illess rifles, rocket launchers, and the like.

It includes a "bipod of such design as to be readily 'atta'cha'ble"tothe rear trunnion of the "gun "which, when "folded,

will form a shoulder rest for ithe operators in off-hand firing and whenunfolded wi11 support the rear chamber of thejg'uninpronafiring, and a'monopod contained in 'a handle "member "for attachment to thefronttrunnion :of the gun to replace the existing handle andwhichma'y'be usedas an ordinary handle in offhand firing but which whenextended'rorms 'asupportin'g'leg to combine with "the bipod toprov'ide atripod for the gun when used in prone *firing.

It is a principal object "of my "invention "to provide a support for'recoilless rifles, rocket launchers, and the like which includes acombination bip'od 'to support the' rearchani'ber of the gun for pronefiring and-form a "shoulder support for the operator "in "off 'han'iifiring, and a combina'tionmonopod which cooperates with the bipod'toform 'atripod support "forthe for. prone firing and provides aconi'foftablehahdle for the operator in off -hand "firing.

It is an important objector "my invention to provide a support of thecharacter described in Which the bipod elementmaybereadily attached tothe present rear trunnion 'o'fa 'gun, and 'the 'monopod element "is*readily 'attachedto 'the front trunnion'to replace the existing handle.

It is a'further object-of"my*invention"to provide in a support of thecharacter described means for locking the'legs-of "the 'bi'p'odinextended position whichwill allow variation in both spread and cantthereof.

"a support of the character ideseribed which relatively simple inc'o'nstruction, eflicient in op eration and inexpensive to manufacture.7

Other objects and advantages of 'tireiinvention will become apparentth'e "course =:of tt'he following specification,iand-zaecompanying:urawings, forming .paftdf 'the specification, inWh like numerals are'us'ed to fiesignateililre corssiniilar parts throughout. I

In the :urawings: 4

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a moill'ess riflemounted on anembodiment ofmydn'vention, in-condition for prone firing,

Figure 2 is an enlarged partial side elevation 15 of the same incondition foroff-hand firingffthe "biped being folded to form a shouldersupport and the monopod closed to form a handle,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the 'bip'od element and its mounting clamp,

Figure 4 is a transverse section through z-the pivotal connection ofmounting clamp andzbipou, taken on the line i l ofFigureB,

Figure 5 is a transverse section through the bipod cant means, taken onthe line E- SL'ofIFigure 3,

Figure 6 is a vertical section through thei'mnnopod, the mounting clamp,internal screw, and part of the telescoping foot member :beingrshown inelevation,

Figure"? is a vertical section through theztelescoping foot member,

Figure 8 is a transverse section throughthe locking means of themonopod,

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail of the ierrule engaging means on themonopod, and,

Figure 10 is a section through the clamp member for securing the bipodlegs when foldeditalsen -on the line |fl-l0 of Figure 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings,2the

numeral ll designates generally'a re'coill'esstrifle provided with atube [2, a rear chamber A5, 'a 'firing'mechanism I4, a rearmoimtingitrunnion l5, and afront mounting trunnion'l'fi. siri'ceztherifle ll is'well known in the art. itwill not be further described.

for pivotal engagement in a bifurcated :p'ortion so 'asfa clevis 24 inwhich'the'bipod lil iszimounted.

The numerals 25 and 26 designate the tirespecti-ve legs of the bipod I liarrangedffiorambuntiing in the clevis flibyimeans :of a'rpivot ::bolt22! 'providedwith a I nut 2 71a extending ithiere'thrnu'h.

J The said legs are arranged iror guided ipivctal movement outwardlytherefrom on a plate member 23 also mounted on the clevis 24 by the bolt21, the legs 25 and 26 being each provided with a neck 29 formedintegral therewith and havin an opening therethrough to engagerespective pins 30 which pass through segmental openings 3| in plate 28and are biased against said plate by springs 32 when cap nuts 33 aretightened on the threaded ends of the said pins and secured thereon bythe screws 34 which are threaded into suitable threaded bores in thepins 30. Means are thus provided for swinging the legs 25 and 26outwardly on the pivot screw 21 and to adjust the legs individually toprovide variation in both spread and cant thereof.

The legs 25 and26 are generally tubular in shape and each said leg isbent uniformly upward from the horizontal to provide similar concaveportions Ila in each said leg to permit the said legs to cooperate toform a suitable shoulder support for the gun when the said legs arefolded against the tube l2 on pin 20. The said legs 25 and 26 are alsoeach bowed outwardly intermediately their ends in opposite directions,as clearly shown in Figure 3, to provide a greater spread from theircommon center and provide increased bracing for the gun. Each said legis provided with a groundengaging shoe 35 at the free end thereof, and asmall plate 35 having an upturned portion 37 is secured to each said endadjacent each said shoe 35 by welding or otherwise for a reason whichwill hereinafter become apparent. A piece of strip metal 38 arranged tosecure a shoulder pad (not shown) is secured to each said leg 25 and 26in the vertical concave portion thereof as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The numeral 39 designates a clamp member arranged to be mounted on theunderside of tube [2 by welding or otherwise. It is provided with a pairof spaced apart dependent ears 40, each said ear having a hole Mtherethrough in registry with the hole in the opposed ear, the spacebetween said ears being adapted to receive the ends of the legs 24 and25 when folded on the pin 20 and hold them therein by the engagement ofthe upturned portions 3'! of plate 36 in the holes 4 l.

The monopod or handle 42 comprises a hollow tubular housing member d3closed at one end by a bifurcated clamp 44 formed integral therewith.The clamp 44 is arranged to engage the front trunnion l between the earsthereof, there being openings through said ears to engage a plurality ofscrews or bolts 45 to secure the said trunnion rigidly therebetween. Thehousing 43 is provided with circumscribing threads adjacent its open endand provides housing for a screw member 45 having a head 4'1 at its endadjacent the closed end of said housing slidably engaging the innerwalls thereof. The open end of housing 43 is also provided with aplurality of small dependent tongues 33 about its periphery for apurpose which will hereinafter become apparent. Screw member 43 isarranged at its other end with an integral knurled collar 4-9 about itsouter periphery to provide a hand grip.

The numeral 55 designates an internally threaded ferrule adapted tothreadedly engage the screw member as for translative movementtherealong. It is provided with a plurality of radial projections 51about its inner periphery, a taper 52 at one end, and a plurality ofrecesses 65 about its upper edge to engage the tongues 48 of the tubularmember 43 and prevent rotation of the ferrule relative to said member.

tact with the inner walls of screw member 15 when said foot member 53 isinserted therein. A spring 51 mounted in the said member 53 urges a pushbutton 58 outwardly to provide a stop for the collar 49 when the member53 is extended downwardly and a second spring finger 59 extendingupwardly in the said member 53 is bent outwardly adjacent its free endto permit the said end 50 to impinge against the inner wall of the screwmember 45 for the hold of the said foot member frictionally in collapsedposition. A common mounting 6| is provided for the said springs 51 and59. When it is desired to collapse the foot member 53, the push buttonis manually depressed until it no longer obstructs collar 49 and thefoot member is at the same time pushed into housing 43,

As has been pointed out heretofore, the monopod 42 is extendible inlength to allow variation in elevation through the telescoping action ofthe respective members relative to each other. In order to lock the saidmonopod in its adjusted position, a collar 52 threaded internally at itsupper end for engagement with the threaded end of tubular member 43 isprovided. The said collar is provided with an internal annular groove 53for reception of the ferrule 50 and is internally tapered as at 64 forfrictional engagement with the tapered portion 52 of the ferrule 53. Thecollar 52 is knurled about its outer periphery for ease in handling.

When the gun II is being used for off-hand firing the bipod I1 is foldedupwardly against the tube l2, the legs being folded inwardly and heldsecure in the clamp 39 as heretofore described. The elements of themonopod 62 are pushed inwardly and held secure to form a handle by thecollar 52. When the gun H is to be used for prone firing, the bipod isunfolded and adjusted for determined spread and cant, and secured insuch adjusted position by means of the cap nuts 33. The monopod 42 isextended to the desired position by full extension of foot mem-- ber 53,ferrule 50 is threaded on the screw member 46 until the determinedextensible length is obtained, and the monopod locked in the adjustedposition by means of the locking collar 62.

It is to be understood that the form herein shown and described is apreferred embodiment of the same, and that changes in the shape andarrangement of parts, and substitution of materials and equivalents, maybe made within the scope of the subjoined claims without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A mount for a recoilless rifle or the like having a tube and frontand rear mounting trunnions, comprising a clamp mounted in said reartrunnion for swinging movement about a pivot, a bipod, including a pairof substantially paralleldisposed legs carried by said clamp andresponsive to the swinging movement of said clamp to move to and from afirst position wherein said legs lie in a plane substantially parallelto the axis of said tube to form a shoulder support for said gun and asecond position wherein said legs lie in a plane substantially normal tosaid axis, means on said bipod for guiding each said leg from and towardthe other said leg to one of a plurality of selective positions relativeto each other to form a support for the rifle, including 6 means 101Said in a Said Selected position, a front member including a dependentextendible handle rigidly carried by said front The following r f enl sa of ecord n the trunnion, means telescopically carried within said fileof this Patent: handle for selectively adjusting the length of said 5UNITED STATES PATENTS front member, and locking means for maintainingsaid telescopic means in a selected position, Number Name Date said legsbeing curved intermediate the ends 271,251 Leerbech at 1883 thereof toform a shoulder rest when said legs 906511 Dawson at 15, 1908 areinsaidfirst position. 10 1,112,732 Um Oct 1914 2. The structure of claim 1 inwhich the de- 1,977,629 Heavey 1934 pendent legs of the bipod and thehandle co- 2,386,802 Johnson 1945 operate to form a tripod to supportthe gun. 2436349 Adams 171 1948 3. The structure of claim 2 in which themeans FOREIGN PATENTS for swinging the said legs from and toward each 15other includes a plate having a pair of oppositely gg g G gi fi D idirected segmental openings therein carried by r an said clamp, a. pairof screws respectively carried OTHER REFERENCES by said legs andarranged for movement through "American Rmeman, September 1945 page saidopenings, and manually operated locking go nuts carried by each saidscrew for locking the said legs in a selected position relative to eachother.

JOHN R. BIRD.

